From his ketchup and mustard hero suit to his blank stare, One-Punch Man, the self-defined “hero for fun”, doesn’t seem to be having much. In his quest to fight the monsters of his world, he simply got too powerful.
Now, wishing only for a worthy fighting opponent, Saitama’s above-and-beyond strength leads to some amazing and hilarious outcomes. The absolute best Saitama moments start with:
10/10 Video Game Punch
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The strongest man in the world and 4th highest S Class Hero, King reveals that he’s been given credit for Saitama’s heroic deeds and that the “King’s Engine” is not the source of his power but the sound of his terrified heartbeat.
This makes the list because it finally shows how it’s possible that Saitama’s efforts in monster slaying have been ignored. It also leads to Saitama making his only friend. He and King form a friendship that Saitama immediately abuses in borrowing King’s video game without asking, but the two of them are cute as hell.
9/10 Low Blow Punch
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After being confronted by Speed ‘o Sonic Sound, Saitama accidentally punches him in the crotch. Off the bat, Sonic gets offended that One-Punch Man can “read” his speedy movements and explains that his pride won’t allow him to pass by. Yet after a flurry of hyper-fast moves mean to intimidate him, Saitama gets bored again and asks “can I go home now?”
It’s at that moment when One-Punch Man’s closed fist accidentally hits Sonic in the crotch and Sonic vows to be Saitama’s greatest enemy and train to one day defeat him, just as soon as he recovers. Against anyone else, Speed o’ Sonic Sound is nearly undefeatable but in this case, Saitama wasn’t even fighting back. Talk about a blow to one’s pride.
8/10 Charanko Punch
When a curious One-Punch Man enters a martial arts tournament, he defeats the strongest fighter by accident. Buying a wig in order to enter under a different name because he missed registration, Saitama quickly moves up through the brackets. One-Punch Man eventually faces Suiryu, the only one in the tournament who seems to be strong enough to give Saitama a taste of what martial arts are like.
One-Punch spends the entire fight trying to keep his wig from flying off. Then he sends Suiryu flying into the stands with an accidental hip-check. Eventually, Saitama concludes that martial arts are just “a way to move around all cool like.” In standard with the satire of the anime, One-Punch Man gets disqualified from the tournament because his wig gets knocked off, and though he was annihilated from not even a single thrown blow from Saitama, Suiryu still wins.
7/10 Hero Registry Punch
After getting convinced to join the Hero Association by Genos, Satiama must take the qualifying tests to get his “hero ranking”. As expected, he destroys the record for every physical test he takes and just his presence makes many tryouts quit on the spot. He laps people running. Jumps through the ceiling, and Whack-A-Moles the poor creatures to extinction. His written tests though are barely passable as our strongest hero is not too smart.
So his combined score puts him in the “C” ranking while his mentee, Genos, gets ranked “S” tier right away. Again, this shows just much stronger One-Punch Man is compared to the world around him. Yet somehow, with hilarious irony, he gets put into the same hero tier as Mumen Rider, who rides a bicycle as his hero power.
6/10 Carnage Kabuto Punch
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Early on, the anime tempts viewers with the thought that Saitama has a challenger. One of the first to suggest this is Carnage Kabuto. He’s a huge humanoid / beetle hybrid that, when realizing that Saitama’s strength could threaten him, mutates into his powerful purple and green form called, Carnage Mode. This is when it seems like Kabuto might actually challenge Saitama as he’s put on his back foot at first.
The fight looks close for a few seconds. After hearing that Carnage Kabuto’s Carnage Mode takes a whole week to subside though, One-Punch Man freaks out. Thinking he’s missed a sale at his favorite grocery store, Saitama ends the fight instantly. Genos reminds him they still have time if they hurry. This moment also gets points for Saitama revealing his training secrets: 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10k run every day!
5/10 Sushi Origin Punch
Three years before he ever became One-Punch Man and went bald from training, the job-seeking Saitama has an encounter with a crab-man monster. Angered at having nipples drawn on him by a kid with an overgrown chin, Crablante seeks revenge but leaves the unemployed Saitama alone because of his lifeless eyes. Later, Saitama tries to save the kid by fighting Crablante.
He gets pummeled but at the last moment, Saitama uses his job-interview tie to snag Crablante’s eye and disembowel him. As an origin, it’s wonderful to witness Saitama’s passion to fight monsters before he had the power of his one punch. The moment is bittersweet, though, as the fight was perhaps the last challenge he faced since becoming too strong for any glory in battle.
4/10 Misunderstanding Punch
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Garou, the self-made “Hero Hunter” is challenged only by the top fighters in the world. After seeing him take out some very strong heroes like Tanktop Master, Garou inadvertently has two brutal interactions with Saitama. In the first instance, Garou misunderstands Saitama as a hero who is trying to stop his rampage against the Hero Association. Realistically, Saitama is just talking aloud to a wig he’s going to buy to impersonate Charanko. Thinking he will take One-Punch Man out with one blow, Garou gives a full-force strike only to see Saitama, in one of the best moments in the anime, just look at him with such confusion. One-Punch Man is baffled and throws a pathetic judo chop that drops Garou instantly.
In the second meeting, Saitama is walking with King down the street and having a nice conversation when Garou sees King. Sensing an opportunity, Garou lunges at King and with one low-effort kick, One-Punch Man sends Garou flying through a building while muttering about how annoying it must be for King. The reason these two moments are listed as one here is that it’s essentially the same interaction twice. Again, it shows how One-Punch Man exists outside any conceivable power dynamic the rest of his world has.
3/10 Genos Pretend Punch
Genos is a cyborg hero who pursues justice after another incredibly powerful cyborg attacked his village as a child. Seeking to avenge his mother’s death, Genos is constantly increasing his power with new robotic parts and upgrades. He’s also one of the few people who understands Saitama’s true strength. So after taking on Genos as a student of his, Saitama is asked for a sparring session by the young cyborg.
Genos has incredible firepower, speed, strength but Saitama dodges all his over-the-top attacks. After begging One-Punch not to hold back, Saitama finally throws one mock punch at Genos. With a tiny jab that doesn’t even connect, a Grand-Canyon-sized hole explodes behind Genos and One Punch asks if he’s ready for some lunch.
2/10 Subterranean Punches
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Saitama has his first real battle as a hero and shows not only his potential strength but his yearning for a worthy opponent. Sleeping soundly in his bed, Saitama is awakened by his house being demolished. He’s thrown down the street in his PJ’s and confronted with a race of giant underground monsters call Subterraneans.
As the monsters get larger in numbers and size and Saitama exclaims, “it’s been so long I forgot the exhilaration of a real fight!” This moment has some of the most epic fighting animation in the series. Just as he’s about to take on the enormous Subterranean King, who has four arms and glowing swords, his alarm clock goes off and Saitama wakes up. It was all a dream. In the waking world, the real monsters do show up outside but after one excited kick from Saitama, they run away leaving a white flag that just states, “sorry about that.”
1/10 Serious Punch
Yes, finally a real fight in the real (anime) world. Is it though? Saitama has his most epic standoff yet as he faces Boros, Dominator of the Universe, an alien from space who’s traveled from light years away. Boros follows a prophecy that a worthy fighter could be found on earth. So he brings his biggest spaceship, vaporizes the first city they run into, and waits for the strongest defenders to show up. After Saitama fights his way through the interior, he faces Boros whose speed and strength seem on par with our hero at first. As they destroy the ship and speed-fight faster than human perception allows, they end up outside the ship and this is where a legendary event happens.
Boros smacks Saitama so hard he flies into the moon. Once he jumps back from space though, Boros recieves the one and only “serious punch” that Saitama has ever thrown. This annihilates the Dominator of the Universe and explodes his body. Across half of the globe, every cloud in the sky parts from One-Punch Man’s first and only serious punch. As he lies dying on the ship, Boros admits he never had a chance and guesses that Saitama was humoring him in the fight.
